Benet guard Ava Thomas hasn’t drawn a lot of attention from opposing defenses that are intent on stopping fellow seniors Bridget Rifenburg and Emma Briggs from working their magic in the paint.

Maybe that should change.

“Bridget and Emma have been playing great for us,” Benet coach Joe Kilbride said. “The others have played well; they just struggled shooting it a little bit.

“When our littles shoot it well, I think we can be pretty good and today they shot it better.”

The 5-foot-7 Thomas was one of the “littles” who stood tall on Saturday. She made 4-of-7 shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, and finished with 11 points to help the visiting Redwings to an impressive 58-36 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory over previously unbeaten Nazareth.

“She did great,” Briggs said of Thomas. “She hit big shots that we needed. When I get the ball, I am confident that if I pass it to her, she will make it.”

The Redwings (8-1, 2-0) made 20-of-36 shots, including 10-of-13 shots in the second half. Briggs led the way with 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals, leading all players in each category, while Rifenburg had eight points, five boards and two steals.

But they had plenty of efficient help from Thomas and fellow guards Ava Mersinger, Sailer Jones and Macy Menendez, who all hit some big shots. Mersinger made her only two shots and finished with seven points, while Menendez sank two treys for six points and Jones added four points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Benet’s scoring was incredibly balanced in the first half. Two players had six points and three others each had five points as the Redwings built a 27-18 cushion.

“For the balanced scoring part, we definitely moved the ball a lot,” Thomas said. “We’ve been working on that a lot this year, trying not to be as selfish, just get everyone open looks.

“I think that’s helped us a lot to spread out the floor and obviously get Emma a lot of open layups. So I had some open shots to start.”

Thomas made her first shot, a 3-pointer off a Rifenburg assist, to give Benet a 9-8 lead. BYU-bound senior forward Stella Sakalas answered on a drive to give the Roadrunners (8-1, 1-1) the lead back, but Benet answered with a Rifenburg drive and Menendez followed with a 3-pointer off a Mersinger pass and the visitors never looked back.

“We wanted to control Briggs and we didn’t do that job,” Nazareth coach Eddie Stritzel said. “I could tell in the first couple minutes.

“We thought we had our defense prepared for her and I think her first three buckets she got were layups underneath the basket from passes over the top. Our plan was to guard against that and we just didn’t execute it.”

Sakalas tallied 19 points but was plagued by foul trouble and fouled out with 2:06 left in the fourth quarter. Sophia Towne added 10 points but the rest of the Roadrunners combined for just seven points.

“They played great,” Stritzel said. “I don’t know if it’s an eye-opener, because our kids have a lot of pride, but we got it taken to us today every step of the way.

“They wanted it more, they played harder, they coached better, and it was a beating.”

Briggs scored 13 points in the third quarter as Benet extended its lead to 47-26. Thomas sank her final three shots, including two 3-pointers in the second half. Her last trey gave the Redwings their largest lead, 52-28, at the 6:42 mark of the fourth quarter.

“During the first half I think (Thomas) missed two and the (Nazareth) student section was all (trying to get) in her head, but she didn’t let it bother her at all,” Briggs said. She should keep shooting and we all know she’s going to make the next one.”

Now so does Thomas.

“Definitely every shot gives me confidence,” Thomas said. “My teammates trust me.

“That’s how I get my open shots, so I’m thankful for them. But definitely (making shots) gives me more confidence to up my defense and everything else.”

But the Redwings, who host Nazareth on January 28, are not overconfident.

“I know that, obviously, Naz is going to be ready for us next time and want to come for us,” Thomas said. “But we’re also ready and we work hard every day. We’re always trying to get better, so it will be another dogfight.”

Briggs agreed.

“We know we’re going to play them again, so it’s nice to have one that we know that we won, and be prepared,” Briggs said. “But it’s not like now we know we’re going to win the next one. We have more preparing to do.”